Can anyone help a novice dog owner do some basic training?

[DrNortherner]

We picked up Max our black lab from a rescue home on Saturday. He is so friendly and has an amazing temprament.

He is 9 months and has had a bit of training, he knows SIT and DOWN but only when he feels like it

He currently demolishes yuo when he sees you which we want to stop. He is also a buggar walking on the lead, but his recall off lead is non existant.

Plus, he has taken to sleeeping in our bedroom as he cries if left alone downstairs.

Any advice? Any good books?

I have signed up for local obediance classes but there is a big waiting list so we can't start till August.....I'd like to make a start myself.

Thanks

The Dog Whisperer book is good - basically, dogs are not humans, they are pack animals and you are the leader of the pack

Ignore him when you first see hime - it will feel horrid at first, but stick with it. If he gets no attention from you (including eye contact) when he first sees you each time you have been out of his sight, he will stop making a fuss. Worked with our two mad labs.

For sleeping, if he is warm and comfortable downstairs, leave him there. He won't cry all night. You may make a rod for your own back otherwise

FWIW, you have got a lab at their bounciest age -it will get better!

Must dash - bath time, but will check back later

What I did with my dog

When off lead, if she didn't come back when I called, I'd hide behind a tree or something. Really scared her when she couldn't find me. You have to reward any good behaviour, so treat when comes back. Garlic sausage is the best thing to use IME, keep some in your pocket and it might help keep dog close when walking on lead.

When you come home and dog is going mad to greet you, ignore completely, don't even push him down. Just get on with what you have to do ie take off coat and shoes. Once he has settled somewhere, call him over to say hi. He has to learn that excited behaviour will not get him attention.

The crying at night is a bit like a baby, I couldn't do it with my dog and she slept on my bed

Hello Doc

Firstly congrats. Secondly, don't panic. You have got an untrained dog at possibly the most difficult stage of its development (puberty) so it will be tough, but he will get better, honest!

If he's jumping up at you say 'off!' (reserve 'down' for lie down) and ignore him until he is calmer. You can even make him sit before he gets attention. Make sure nobody else allows him to jump up either (this is hard - people think they're being nice when they say 'Oh I don't mind' but it confuses the dog & means he'll take oodles longer to learn).

For walking on the lead try (in an open space) holding the lead in both hands behind your back and every time he pulls, walk in the opposite direction. As he stops pulling & the lead goes slack, praise him & give the 'heel' command or whatever. Do this for 5-10 mins before a walk if you can.

Recall is tougher, esp an adolescent dog. I would not let him off the lead until he is reliable, and you may need to use a long line to teach him first. Never scold if he doesn't come back - always praise, even if it's 2 hours later.

As for sleeping downstairs you really have to make him go cold turkey or he'll be in your room forever.

Lots of good books - Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey, or Bruce Fogle is a training guru.

Best of luck!

We got a rescue lab cross at 7 months...she knew 'leave' ie. drop your toy and I'll throw it for you...and that was it. She was used to sleeping in a bed with a human and had not been properly house trained (had been left alone in a kitchen from 8-4 each day). The good news is that labs are generally very clever and learn really quickly.
Re: the sleeping. You have to be tough - it is like controlled crying with a baby. Our dog sleeps downstairs in her bed, that's the way we started when we got her, and we have not backed down despite the crying, barking, scratching at doors etc. ( I did tell neighbours what we were up to!). She also cried every time I left the house but this got shorter and shorter and now she is fine.
I recommend DAP spray (we sprayed her bed if we were going out without her) if only for the fact that it makes you feel like you are doing somthing
We started dog obedience classes when she was 10 months and the most important thing I learnt was that she will do anything for a bit of cocktail sausage so we use them for rewards for most things eg. sit, down, stay, walking 'close', and recall. We were ok with recall (she had never been walked on a lead though!) but still take sausages on walks in case I want to get her back in a hurry eg. another dog approaching or pheasants/rabbits.
Good luck.
(We only got the house training sorted a few weeks ago and she's over a year old now!)

Aaah, cocktail sausages, good idea for treats!

Some good advice here, thnks all

What is DAP spray?

Must say, he is house trained so we fell lucky there!

Treats in a tupperware when they are off the lead - rattle it and they come back and give them a treat you don't even have to shout they can hear the rattle from miles away!

5-10 minute bursts of training throughout the day, in a variety of situations... i.e. in the kitchen, in the garden, in the hall, on your way past dog to do a chore or whatever. Means you end up permanently having a pocket full of treats... but does work. Start with SIT ( I know you say the dog can do this already - but not reliably ) Say sit, treat on nose, and raise hand up and slightly back. Lab's heavy bottom hits floor, praise and give treat. Do this over and over again. Till you dont need the treat until the dog sits. Make it sit before you put the lead on, before giving it meals, before going thru doorways ( always you first )
If you have got a rock steady sit you can cope with everything ( almost ) e.g. if dog suddenly escapes and is about to run in front of large lorry and you yell SIT... and it does... accident avoided.

When this is solid, move onto DOWN.

I second the hiding behind the tree thing - but I think there is a window of opportunity for this which closes at around 16 weeks.

Is it possible to find a different dog class? Vets will probably have a list. A 9 month old lab will need the stimulation of something - ours is 2 and a half now and still has bouncy moments!

DAP spray is umm..dog appeasing pheramone (I think) - basically it's the scent that happy dogs give off and it makes sad dogs happy when they smell it...or summat like that. You can buy it from the vets (or online). You can also get DAP collars which let the dog walk around in its own happy cloud of DAP
Our pup also wee'd on the floor if she was worried, ie. when we left the room she was in for the first week or so, and about 5am in the morning at weekends (I get up at 5 weekdays, so she would get worried when I didn't appear and wee, then bark to tell me that she had wee'd ) This gets better as they settle in and get used to the new house etc.
Oh, and most labs chew...a lot...so get some strong chewy toys (we have a large rubber ball which spits out biscuits when it's rolled around, and a Kong, which have lasted a few weeks..most of her toys last a day but we are lucky and she only chews her own stuff.

Congrats on your new dog, DrNortherner.

Labs do a good impression of thick dogs but they're mostly very bright and keen to learn so you should have great fun training him.

I think you probably need a decent guide to dog training in general - if you can tolerate the really, really American slant then a brilliant book is this one. I'd also recommend you get yourself a clicker and start clicker training - it has to be the most fun way to train a dog and there's no end to the cool tricks you can teach them. It also ensures the dog focuses on you and fosters a close bond.

This forum is full of people who work with rescue dogs and will have lots of experiences to share

Have fun, I am a bit jealous

Hmm, just been reading up on clicker training, it sounds very interesting actually. Might give that a go.

We practised the recall command at home ALL THE TIME. When the dog is lying down somewhere shout on him, when he comes back make a big thing of him. Same when he is in the garden. We did this over and over and over again (sometime 10 times in 10 minutes). Eventually they get the idea that when you shout them they come to you cause it is worth it.

Get a halti lead for when you are out.